2008-12-18

He might be considered as a "lame duck" president but US President George W. Bush still knows how to duck. He was agile enough to dodge the two succeeding shoe projectile hurled by the Iraqi journalist, Durgham Zaidi, last December 14 during a press conference. Although the president has maintained his composure and even joked about the matter, he was obviously shocked by the incident.

Although the show-throwing did not injure the chief executive, it was an assault on his dignity. It was a form of insult and protest that expressed the sentiments of the people of the Middle East. Clearly, many are not in favor of Bush's war policies in Iraq. These include many Americans. One proof of this is the recent popularity of a newly built website, Sock and Awe. The name is a pun of the US military campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime, "Shock and Awe."

The website, "Sock and Awe" (http://www.sockandawe.com), is an idea of Alex Tew of Britain. According to him, about 1.4 million people have already succeeded in knocking Bush on the face with the virtual shoes. The Shockwave game is simple enough. You simply have to hit the ducking president behind a rostrum and achieve the highest possible score within 30 seconds.

2008-12-03

Are you using a pirated version of Windows or have you unknowingly purchased an unlicensed version? Well Microsoft Corporation is already filthy rich. It will not make big difference. In fact, many programmers are trying to combat the monopoly of this gigantic corporation. You can find many alternative "open source" software applications and operating systems. Most of these software applications and operating systems are still not at par with Microsoft products but they are good alternatives if you are already pissed off with the unreliable and exploitative products of Microsoft.

However, for most of us who are still at the mercy of Microsoft, we have to put up with the profiteering schemes of this juggernaut. One of the strategies to maintain profit is the Windows validation. If you are connected to the Internet, you will occasionally be prompted to download updates. If you choose to update, your Windows operating system will be subjected to validation process. If your operating system is unable to pass, three sets of irritating notifications will pop up. One notification is a permanent balloon located above task bar. Another notification will occasionally pop up as a smaller balloon above the task bar clock. The third notification will appear every time you start your computer. This notification looks something like the picture below:

In most cases, the reason for this is that your software is a pirated version. On the other hand, this might also be caused by changing the product key to software-generated key. In other cases, there is simply no apparent reason.

You do not really need to panic, you will still be able to use your computer. However, you will be unable to update Internet Explorer and Media Player. You will also be unable to customize most of your settings such as the Wallpaper. The permanent notification is also very irritating.

You can remove the notifications by following the simple steps stated below:

1. If you have only just installed Windows Genuine Advantage notifications, simply using the system restore function will remove the program. Then refuse to accept the WGA update next time Windows updates... Otherwise, proceed as detailed below. (NOTE: If you try these steps while you are in "Safe Mode," step #8 is unnecessary).

2. First Try the Following:

3. - Open a CMD Line Window by Clicking on Start ==>Run ==> type CMD and Press OK.

11. This should kill the wgatray.exe Process from the Taskbar and imediately delete both files wgatray.exe and wgalogon.dll without the need to to go through all steps bellow.

12. If that does not work, then continue and follow the steps bellow

13. Open System32 by either A or B of the following methods:o a) Click "Start", "Run", then type-in "System32". Click "Okay".o b) Find System32 manually by clicking "Start" > "My Computer" > "(X:)" (Replacing "X" with the drive letter of the host of Windows) > "Windows" > "System32".

14. In "System32", go to "Tools" > "Folder options" > click on the tab, "View" > Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". Now you can begin...

15. Check to make sure the window that comes up has a full screen of various files. The files are in alphabetical order, which makes it easier to locate the specific file.

16. Find "WgaLogon.dll" and rename it "WgaLogon.dll.bak".

17. Create an empty copy of WgaLogon.dll:

o Right click on a blank space in System32 and select "New" > "Text Document".o Leave the text document empty and label it "WgaLogon.dll". Press Enter (on your keyboard).You may get a warning from the above step that says, "If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?". Click "Yes" on this warning.

18. Be ready to complete the next two steps very quickly! Find "WgaTray.exe" in "System32" and delete it. You will then have 5 seconds to find "WgaTray.exe" in the Task Manager (the next step). NOTE: If you remove the files mentioned above while you are in "Safe Mode," step #8 is unnecessary.

19. Immediately open Task Manager. You can do this by pressing the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys simultaneously, pressing the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys simultaneously, or right clicking the Taskbar and selecting "Task Manager". Click on the process tab and click end process when "WgaTray.exe" is selected.

Note: If you take longer, do NOT panic! All that will happen is that "WgaTray.exe" will keep reapearing in the processes list (i.e. you won't be able to delete it as required). To remove the notifications after this, return to system32. You will find two files:"WgaLogon.dll.bak" (the one you renamed) and an Application Extension (0KB) called "WgaLogon.dll". Delete the Application Extension, rename "WgaLogon.dll.bak" to "WgaLogon.dll" and repeat the steps from the fifth one onwards (at a greater speed!!).

20. Restart your computer once you have finished. All the notification messages should be gone.